Paris Jackson has been ‘supported in every step of the way’ by a British reality star after facing a serious drug addiction.
Last month, the 27-year-old daughter of the late music superstar Michael Jackson revealed she’d been left with a hole in her nose due to drug use.
Five years on from going sober, Paris said she was ‘ready to address’ her perforated septum, which she admitted was a result of ‘exactly what you think it’s from’.
She then added the message: ‘Don’t do drugs kids. Or do, I mean, everyone is going to have the experience they need to have with life. I’m not going to tell anyone what to do. I don’t recommend it because it ruined my life.’
A few weeks on, it’s now been revealed that the model and actress has been helped by former The Only Way is Essex Tom Kilbey in recent years.
Tom, 35, is best known for joining the reality series in 2012, which his sister Cara Kilbey was already appearing on too.
The former professional footballer also dated co-star Lydia Bright, but moved to Los Angeles after leaving Towie by its seventh season.
He went on to meet Paris, and the pair became such close friends that she once joked she wanted to ‘legally adopt’ him as a big brother.
Tom and Paris were close at the time that she decided to enter rehab in 2019, with a source now saying that a confronting comment he made helping her make a change.
‘Paris’ best friend Tom has played a huge part in her sober journey,’ a source told The Sun.
‘He has supported her every step of the way.
‘It’s thought he was the one who told her she would die if she didn’t get her act together, and he reminded her that she had so much going for her.’
A year after Paris went sober, Tom followed suit, going on to share a social media post in July this year that read: ‘Sober together forever love you.’
The source went on to share that Paris had been sober for five years now and ‘tells friends she owes Tom so much’.
‘It’s been a true bonding experience for them both,’ they added.
In the pair’s close circle is also former Towie star Vas J Morgan, 36. He has also been sober since 2017.
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‘You have literally held my hand through the darkest times and danced with me in the brightest,’ he wrote to Paris when celebrating her birthday last year.
Although The Sun’s source said that Paris’ group ‘may seem surprising to some people’, she’d been ‘drawn to like-minded people who really inspire her and support her’. She really couldn’t care less that they started on a reality show,’ they added.
Earlier this year Paris spoke about being grateful she addressed her drug issues and turned her life around.
Alongside a video montage of her partying with friends, she wrote on Instagram: ‘Hi, I’m ok and I’m an alcoholic and a heroin addict.
‘Today marks 5 years clean and sober from all drugs and alcohol. To say that I’m thankful would be a poor euphemism. Gratitude hardly scratches the surface. It’s because I’m sober that I get to smile today. I get to make music. I get to experience the joy of loving my dogs and cat.’
She continued: ‘I get to feel heartbreak in all its glory. I get to grieve. I get to laugh. I get to dance. I get to trust. I feel the sun on my skin, and it’s warm. I’ve found that life keeps happening regardless of whether I’m sober or not, but today I get to show up for it.’
Paris was just 11 years old when her dad died from an overdose of prescription drugs in 2009.
She and her two brothers – Prince and Bigi – then moved in with their uncle Jermaine.
However, Paris later said she then went on to ‘do a lot of things that 13, 14, 15-year-olds shouldn’t do’.
‘I tried to grow up too fast, and I wasn’t really that nice of a person,’ she once explained.
By the time she was 15, Paris was already taking intravenous drugs and then attempted to take her own life before undertaking years of hard partying.
During a speech about her sobriety at the Friendly House Awards Luncheon in Los Angeles in October, Paris said she was able to not only get her life back but secure a ‘better one’.
‘I say it’s funny, I feel like getting sober was kind of like getting into a car accident because everything I shoved in the back seat moved forward on impact and today I’m learning to navigate life on life’s terms,’ she said.
Metro has contacted representatives for Paris Jackson and Tom Kilbey for comment.
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